Old Cookbooks

Sorry, I missed yesterday's post with some unexpected NRT business and a little hurricane prep. Let's pray things won't get too bad around here. I'm terrified of another flooded basement and no power to pump. Even with power and multiple sump pumps, I had 10 inches of water in the cellar in 2005 and 2010. Thank you Planning Board for letting them build the house on the rise above my home. If I flood again, I may have to think about moving to higher ground. Is there space for a trailer in Chestnut Knoll? Oh well, nothing to do about it but wait out the storm. I haven't joined the rush for batteries because I have a crank radio and flashlights from the inestimable L. L. Bean. Anyone know where I can find a crank refrigerator?

I bought a terabyte hard drive recently and in cleaning up some files I found a cache of old cookbooks I had downloaded in PDF format. You can find the collection at Michigan State's "Feeding America" website here. A fascinating example is 1922's Foods of the Foreign Born which manages to perpetuate ethnic stereotypes in the name of healthy food and preserve some early "crossover" recipes from those same ethnic groups. Here's a recipe for Portuguese Roast Meat that is similar to a version I've actually eaten in a restaurant.

Roast Meat

6 pounds of beef, pork, or lamb                                            2 green peppers

1 clove of garlic                                                                    4 tomatoes

3 onions                                                                                 1 tablespoon mace

1/2 cup vinegar

2 tablespoons salt                                                                  1 teaspoon black pepper

Rub meat with salt, mace and pepper. Pour vinegar over it and let stand over night or, at least, four hours. Cut up peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Place meat in roasting pan, cover with the vegetables, and roast until meat is tender, basting every fifteen minutes with vegetables.

I roast at 350°, but the "roast until tender" instruction makes me wonder if this was aimed at a tough cut of meat that might work well in  a slow cooker. The slow cooker would remove the need to baste. Perhaps after the marinade, cut some small incisions in the meat and add some garlic slices. I'd also brown the meat in a hot pot or pan before adding the vegetables. 

Just a mention of a restaurant that often goes unnoticed-Owen O'Learys on Belmont Street next to Back Bay Bagels. Occasionally inconsistent with beef, I like their chicken and seafood as well as Bangers and Mashed, and Irish Mixed Grill. Yesterday, I attended a meeting there and had a fine dish-broiled scallops with linquica with a garlic aioli over wilted spinach from their seasonal menu.